History Main / GeniusDitz

* ''WebVideo/{{Oxventure}}'': While the Oxventurers as a group tend towards "dysfunctional with occasional spikes of hypercompetency", the extremes are the most obvious with Dob: a CloudCuckoolander of the first order who adopts random [=NPCs=] as his new children, stores all his money in a lake (with a map thrown into a different lake), rarely comes up with more than half of a plan and has been known to cast AOE spells without checking whether any of his allies are within the blast radius, but he's also a MasterSwordsman and MasterOfDisguise whose antics regularly save the party's collective backsides.

* ''WebAnimation/EpithetErased'': When it comes to his [[HighHopesZeroTalent chosen career of supervillainy]], Giovanni Potage is a tremendously stupid man and [[StupidCrooks his gang are no better]]. The museum heist plan is to smash down the front door, steal...some stuff, they're not sure what, and get out without being arrested...somehow, and it's planned for 7 pm rather than midnight because one of the crew can't stay out that late. He also willingly signed up for an obvious pyramid scheme on the grounds that it ''being'' a pyramid scheme proved they were ''serious'' about being evil, and generally comes across as a 12-year-old boy who happens to be 19. On the flipside, his ''emotional'' intelligence is just plain through the roof: he's InTouchWithHisFeminineSide and shows absolutely no insecurity about [[RealMenWearPink being interested in knitting and cooking]], and is, bizarrely enough, an ExcellentJudgeOfCharacter most of the time and is very good at telling when he's been lied to. He's also got a maxed Imagination stat and is constantly coming up with creative ideas for how to apply his power over Soup, which has given him a surprisingly potent toolkit in combat for a man whose primary weapon is a baseball bat with a knife taped to it.

** Bernard likewise isn’t a very smart man who uses a belt and pieces of his own oven to cook and can’t do his own taxes. However at the same time he can write a 1030 page masterpiece novel in a few minutes (his attempt at a children’s book) and whip up make a substitute wine in half a hour with a fraction of nature’s resources.

* ''ComicBook/MartianManhunter'': Miss Martian has pulled some rather impressive stunts like disguising herself to infiltrate an underground super fight league to free a bunch of trapped superheroes and working with a resistance cell in ''ComicBook/FinalCrisis''. She also [[PieInTheFace threw a pie in Ravager's face]] and cried when Rose yelled at her.

* ''ComicBook/DisneyComicsDuckUniverse'': Several ''WesternAnimation/DonaldDuck'' stories had the titular duck discovering a previously unexpressed aptitude in some obscure field, like counting objects or instrument playing. Gyro Gearloose also qualifies as this.

* Dr Dinosaur of ''ComicBook/AtomicRobo'' is capable of feats of science that astonish Robo, such as the "timevolution" of a ''T. rex'' egg into the weapon-encrusted FUTURESAURUS REX, but he's also fundamentally kind of a moron who dedicated quite some time to building a machine with the sole purpose of sending Robo unsolicited bulk email.

* ComicBook/{{Deadpool}} probably counts as one. Sure, he's certifiably insane, completely unpredictable, constantly breaks the fourth wall and never ever ever stops talking -- ''ever'' -- but when it comes to fighting, shooting, stabbing and generally causing mayhem, he's one of the best in the whole Franchise/MarvelUniverse. Suffice it to say that Deadpool is ''really'' good at his job as a mercenary. He once detected seventeen weaknesses in Characters/{{Shatterstar}}'s fighting techniques just from watching him practice for a few minutes. Shatterstar is one of the best swordsmen in the entire Marvel Universe, and quite skilled at all other forms of close-range combat to boot.
* Several ''WesternAnimation/DonaldDuck'' stories had the titular duck discovering a previously unexpressed aptitude in some obscure field, like counting objects or instrument playing. Gyro Gearloose also qualifies as this.
* In ''ComicBook/DoomPatrol'', Flash Forward is TheSmartGuy and a DeadpanSnarker who often shows a greater capacity for lateral or existential thought than his teammates. He's also a poor kid from rural Alabama who dropped out of school in the 7th grade.
* Every once in a while ComicBook/HarleyQuinn will remind you that she ''is'' a certified psychologist. Depending on the writer, she also may have even expressed the "ditzy" part of this trope even ''before'' [[LoveMakesYouCrazy going insane]]. For a long time, writers went back and forth as to whether she truly earned her degree or whether she cheated her way through school to get it, but by the 2010s, it was universally agreed to be the former.
* ComicStrip/ModestyBlaise's lover Dr Pennyfeather, a bungling but surprisingly efficient doctor.
* Arsenal from ''ComicBook/RedHoodAndTheOutlaws''. He's a cheery clown, but he's also brilliant at making weapons. This has been accentuated in ''ComicBook/RedHoodArsenal''. Roy has become so focused on inventing new weapons that he often blows all his earned money on spare parts.
* Marv from ''ComicBook/SinCity''. Even he doesn't consider himself very smart, but he is capable of solving mysteries and forming battle plans to take down skilled opponents.
* Miss Martian from the ''ComicBook/TeenTitans'' comic has pulled some rather impressive stunts like disguising herself to infiltrate an underground super fight league to free a bunch of trapped superheroes and working with a resistance cell in ''ComicBook/FinalCrisis''. She also [[PieInTheFace threw a pie in Ravager's face]] and cried when Rose yelled at her.

* ''ComicBook/WonderWoman'' [[ComicBook/WonderWoman1942 Vol 1]]: "Glitch" can repair and improve just about any vehicle once they get a chance to look it over, but they also make plans with so many holes that they end up putting together a plane, while it's falling out of a spaceship while clinging to the outside. They've also taken apart at least one plane ''in flight'' without realizing why that could be a problematic at first.
* Boom-Boom of the ''ComicBook/XMen'' comes across as a stereotypical dumb blonde (she regards being told she looks like "[[ComicBook/XTerminators2022 if Barbie was a sex addict]]" as a compliment, and has been immune to mind-control powers because [[ComicBook/{{Nextwave}} "my power transports the mind -- but you do not appear to have one"]]). However, years of black ops and superheroics have left her with flawless combat instincts, and she's also noted to be Marvel Earth's preeminent genius in the field of social media use.

* Film/BillAndTed are so ditsy, they are in danger of failing a course in a class seemingly full of dimwitted students, but are naturally adept at figuring out the [[RetroactivePreparation causal]] and [[TrickedOutTime paradoxical]] [[SanDimasTime effects]] of time travel. And they also must have some vast philosophical bent, as [[ThePowerOfRock their music eventually creates a utopian society]].

** Bernard likewise isn’t a very smart man who uses belt and pieces of his own oven to cook and can’t do his own taxes. However at the same time he can write a 1030 page masterpiece novel in a few minutes (his attempt at a children’s book) and whip up make a substitute wine in half a hour with a fraction of nature’s resources.

-> ''"I swear, I'm like, a genius."''
-->-- '''Jennifer''', ''Film/LakePlacidVsAnaconda''

* ''LetsPlay/AttackingTucans'' spends all his LP's being silly and talking about the most profound of things, yet he scored a 4.0 in high school and his official IQ test came back as 142, GENIUS LEVEL. 18 POINTS LOWER THAN STEPHAN HAWKING. HOW.

* Boom-Boom of the ''[[ComicBook/{{X-Men}}]]'' comes across as a stereotypical dumb blonde (she regards being told she looks like "[[ComicBook/XTerminators2022 if Barbie was a sex addict]]" as a compliment, and has been immune to mind-control powers because [[ComicBook/{{Nextwave}} "my power transports the mind -- but you do not appear to have one"]]). However, years of black ops and superheroics have left her with flawless combat instincts, and she's also noted to be Marvel Earth's preeminent genius in the field of social media use.

* Boom-Boom of the ''[[ComicBook/XMen]]'' comes across as a stereotypical dumb blonde (she regards being told she looks like "[[ComicBook/XTerminators2022 if Barbie was a sex addict]]" as a compliment, and has been immune to mind-control powers because [[ComicBook/{{Nextwave}} "my power transports the mind - but you do not appear to have one"]]). However, years of black ops and superheroics have left her with flawless combat instincts, and she's also noted to be Marvel Earth's preeminent genius in the field of social media use.
-->'''Emma Frost:''' "These are the most brilliant minds I know - or the ones who aren't emotionally stunted, at least. If they can't save the universe in an hour, no-one can."\\

* Bull Shannon, Bailiff of Night Court, is another prime example. Although he is very naive and clueless at most times, there are times where he shows very good examples of being intelligent such as spouting out definitions for words his coworkers don’t understand. His IQ was even revealed in one episode to be 181, much to the surprise of his friends.

* ''VideoGame/CityOfHeroes/''Villains'' has [[MadScientist Dr. Aeon]]. He ''would'' be a serious threat, [[LaughablyEvil if he weren't so scatter-brained]]. As it is, he usually ends up [[TheChewToy fouling up his own plots]]. Plus, he gave us the Mission Editor. You ''have'' to like him for that.

* Andy from ''VideoGame/AdvanceWars,'' the only mechanical genius who doesn't know that there's more than one continent! Or what an airport is, apparently. It's more that, for the sake of the tutorial, they superglued an IdiotBall to him. Unfortunately, perhaps they forgot to take it off him again for the rest of the game.

* Makoto Nanaya of ''VideoGame/BlazBlue'' is a [[FunPersonified silly]], [[NiceGuy friendly]], whimsical and simple-minded [[LittleBitBeastly squirrel]] [[CuteMonsterGirl beastkin]] girl who [[BigEater eats a lot of food]] and climbs trees for exercise and fun. She also attended the prestigious [[TheEmpire NOL]] military academy on scholarship, [[FantasticRacism despite beastkin being looked down upon by society]], found work in the NOL [[StateSec Intelligence Division]], [[spoiler:and works as a [[TheMole double agent]] for [[LaResistance Sector Seven]]]].

* ''VideoGame/CityOfVillains'' has [[MadScientist Dr. Aeon]]. He ''would'' be a serious threat, [[LaughablyEvil if he weren't so scatter-brained]]. As it is, he usually ends up [[TheChewToy fouling up his own plots]]. Plus, he gave us the Mission Editor. You ''have'' to like him for that.

* ''WesternAnimation/PussInBootsTheLastWish'': Downplayed with "Big" Jack Horner, who's a StupidEvil villain to the bone and prefers to use brute force in fights, but is also a successful businessman running a large pie factory. Even if he inherited it, it would still take a lot of work to keep such a factory running and successful, and Jack personally makes sure the pies it produces are top-quality.

[[folder: Newspaper Comics]]

* Izuku in '' Fanfic/EreWeGoPlusUltra'' has the mentality of an [[TabletopGame/Warhammer40000 ork]]. He talks oddly, struggles with math, fights anyone at the drop of a hat, and is a GadgeteerGenius who can make a subspace pocket out of a bicycle light.

* Izuku in '' Fanfic/EreWeGoPluSUltra'' has the mentality of an [[TabletopGame/Warhammer40000 ork]]. He talks oddly, struggles with math, fights anyone at the drop of a hat, and is a GadgeteerGenius who can make a subspace pocket out of a bicycle light.

* Izuku in ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13193683/1/Ere-we-go-Pluz-Ultra Ere We Go, Pluz Ultra!]]'' has the mentality of an [[TabletopGame/Warhammer40000 ork]]. He talks oddly, struggles with math, fights anyone at the drop of a hat, and is a GadgeteerGenius who can make a subspace pocket out of a bicycle light.

** Ash Ketchum himself certainly counts; he's not very bright when it comes to social cues, and has admitted that he's BookDumb in the ''Sun and Moon'' seasons. That said, when he's involved in a Pokémon battle, he's among the best in the series. He's come up with some genuinely thought-out plans, but he absolutely excels in more unorthodox battle strategies (Thunder Armor and Counter Shield say hi), and he's taken on [[OlympusMons legendary Pokémon]] and fully-evolved pseudo-legendaries with significantly weaker 'mons ''and KO'd them.'' His Pikachu alone is a good testament to how long he's been doing this, having had its fair share of impressive victories [[PintSizedPowerhouse despite its size]]. There's a good reason Ash has come close to winning the regional championships numerous times, and eventually [[spoiler:finally won a league in Alola]].

* Izuku in ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13193683/1/Ere-we-go-Pluz-Ultra Ere We Go, Pluz Ultra!]]'' has the mentality of an [[TabletopGame/Warhammer40000 ork]]. He talks oddly, struggles with math, fights anyone at the drop of a hat, and is a GadgeteerGenuis who can make a subspace pocket out of a bicycle light.